Death, interesting concept if I say so myself, the ending of all things to everyone, infinite darkness to some, a fiery abyss or a peace filled valley to others, yeah death is what awaits to everyone...
uhh?.
Oh right, sorry I left my mind wander here heh, pretty unique way to start this story right?
Well it has a reason why.
I would like to tell my story mostly as a way to express some feelings that I buried for a while, heh I made a pun not even intending to... right so the last thing for me writing this thing is because it could help as a learning tool to anyone that wants to give my profession a try and hoping that the things that you may feel or think while you work are completely normal, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
So let me begin telling you how do I landed this job, I was 6 years old when I first saw a corpse, an uncle of mine passed away due to cancer, I didn't knew him very well, I may recall watching him once on a visit to Mantle when I was only 3, but it didn't matter at that point, he was a cousin of my mother, so out of respect my whole family went to his funeral, Sapphron was really uncomfortable by the old ladies giving her weird looks about the way she was dressed, Melody and Melanie wandered around the parlor for a while and then felled asleep on my father's lap, I on the other hand wanted to give my respects to the man that laid in the coffin.
Even if I didn't knew him to well, I thought it was the right thing to do, so I went to his coffin and saw him for a moment, the man could very well be passed of as alive, maybe in a really heavy sleeping, but alive.
His skin was pink, his hair was impeccable, his beard was clean and taken care off, the only sign that showed that this person was no longer alive was the lack of movement of his chest.
I was perplexed, my aunt showed a few pictures of my uncle in his last days, he looked very sick and weak.
The man in front of him looked more alive... even though he was dead.
When the funeral ended, and we were walking to bury my uncle, I asked my father about what I saw.
My father was a little taken aback by my question I could see, but he just put a serious expression and explained to me that someone had helped my uncle to look as he did... huh?... how could someone prepare a dead person to look presentable?
And there is where I saw the man, He was dressed in a stylish dress shirt, with a black bow tie on his neck and a striped 2 piece suit, he had glasses on, he looked to be in his early 30s or late 20s, I saw him talk to my aunt about something my uncle desired to be done with his body and that it was already taken care off.
I somehow got out of the grip of my father and curious approached the man.
He was very well-spoken, had a bright smile on his face and with gusto spoke to me about his job when I asked him about it,
A mortician he explained the job was called, a person that prepares a recently deceased person for his final resting, helps the family in preparations for funerals and overall helps in the healing process of a grieving family.
I was mesmerized by the way he described it... At that moment it seemed so... selfless and caring, the idea of making sure a person is taken care off and helping people heal... it resonated with me.
And so, at the age of 6... I knew what my calling in life was, some kids wanted to be heroes, other hunstmen or huntswomen, musicians or dancers... me?...
I wanted to be a mortician.
And this book... is some experiences I had with some of the people I met for only a couple of days and never spoke a word to.